CHAPTER TWO

just putting this song here for emotional feeling

   "are you se-hun?" 

he looked up at hee-song. was she really... hee-song? his hee-song? the one he almost died with, with the words 'i love you' lingering his lips? se-hun smirked, "is that the way you address your crown prince?" he asked and stood up. she blinked and looked at her feet, "mi-yan-eh." she said and kept her eyes on the ground. 

was he really se-hun, or was he the crown prince of joseon? "hee-song, because you called me by my name, how shall i punish you for disrespect?" he asked cricling around her. hee-song closed her eyes and gritted her teeth. not the real se-hun... he stopped in front of her and turned to face her. he slowly lifted up her chin, "how should i?" 

se-hun leaned in and planted a kiss on her lips. a tear fell from her cheek, and she parted the kiss, "chona, mi-yan-eh, but you shouldn't be doing this. you deserve a namin daughter." she said afraid to confront him. even if he had kissed her, she didn't know if the crown prince had an interest in the palace maid she portrayed. 

"a namin daughter who is as spoiled as a royal." se-hun mumbled and looked back at hee-song, "do you really not recognize me? have we not met anywhere else besides the palace before?" he asked raising an eyebrow. hee-song's face turned bright red, but she wiped her tears and calmly said, "i have never met chona anywhere besides serving him in the palace." 

se-hun, hurt and worried, looked away from her face and sighed. there must have been a problem. maybe he was dead, but had suddenly transport to joseon? no. that wasn't possible. he un-did the horse's reigns around the tree, and mounted onto the horse. he held out a hand to hee-song, "i'll give you a ride to the palace, but you can't tell anyone." he said avoiding her eyes that tried to contact his. 

she took his hand and mounted the horse, and they began to ride freely in the fields. hee-song couldn't help, but smile as the warm air ran along her skin, and se-hun smiled as well. the closeness made hee-song spring back into old memories of modern day se-hun. tears followed closely behind, and she stiffened and loosened her grip on the crown prince.

se-hun felt her grip loosening and used one hand to wrap her arms around his waist, "no matter what, you shouldn't loosen your grip. no matter how much you hate me, or how much you want to leave, i'm not going to let you die from falling off this horse." he said. honestly, it was supposed to be a warm and kind saying, but hee-song had taken the crown prince's statement the wrong way and awkwardly held onto him.

     "kam-sa-ham-ni-da." hee-song thanked and bowed. she wiped her tears as the crown prince turned around to tie the horse in the stable and sniffed. the way he talked and looked made her think of oh se-hun. the one she had been putting up with since they had met. 

se-hun smiled, "you don't need to thank me. just be lucky we bumped into each other in the field." he said and scratched the side of his band on his head. "chona, you should be getting ready for your studies. your eunuch has been searching for you." a palace maid reported and glared at hee-song.

he bit his lower lip, "aish, i should go. ann-yeong!" he said and walked away. the palace maid snarled at hee-song, "yah, where have you been?! the princess has been going wild ever since you left!" she shouted. hee-song sighed, "aigoo, where is she?" "her highness's quarters."

      "chona. where have you been? we have been looking for you! you've already skipped your studies, and his majesty is looking for you." se-hun's eunuch reported and bowed. se-hun his lips, "lead me to the king's quarters."

"crown prince se-hun, you were to be studying the book of filal duties, and yet you've still skip your lessons?! what have you been learning about while you skip your studies?" the king shouted. se-hun sighed, "nothing, aba-mama." he lowered his eyes and hung his head low. "aish, well, because of your lack of studying, we've sped up the wedding date. tonight you're meeting your fiancé." 

se-hun widened his eyes, "aba-mama, i promise to study harder, please don't rush the wedding!" the king coughed, "crown prince se-hun, i don't have time to argue with you about marriage. i'm old and on the brink of death. do you want joseon to be full of evil and death?" he rose his voice. se-hun sighed, "a-ni-yo, aba-mama." he replied and clenched his fists.

"good. now, bring in the guests."

        "hee-song, where have you been? you haven't been home for three days! are you trying to kill your parents?" hee-song's mom cried and hugged her daughter. "uhmma, i've been really busy at the palace. the princess is restless without me." she said and smiled. her dad stood idly by, with his usual grumpy expression.

"apa, did you miss your daughter?" she asked. her dad glared at her, "hee-song, do you know what day it is? today is the day your future husband comes over, and you ignore that fact and pretend life is beautiful and easy? go get ready. i have nothing to say to you." he said and she lowered her gaze. 

hee-song dabbed the mineral powder on her face and gazed at herself in the mirror. she really never had prettied herself like this. she put down the applier and sighed, 'if i'm getting married...' she gasped silently and gritted her teeth. if she marries, there will never be se-hun and hee-song. ever.

   another random song with emotion

       "chona, we thank you for the gracious marriage request. our daughter was shocked and full of joy as she heard the news." the girl's father said as he got up from his bow. se-hun silently scoffed and looked at the girl. she would be described 'perfect' and 'beautiful', but in se-hun's eyes she was a gold-digger and a fake. he could see through her smile and the way she looked at the king. 

"this is my daughter, ji-young. she's not the most perfect daughter in the world, but she tries." her father laughed and the king did as well. ji-young smiled even wider and locked eyes with se-hun. he gave her a quick smirk and drew attention to the two fathers, "so, when is the wedding date?" he asked. his father laughed, "crown prince se-hun, are you that in love with his daughter? we've just got started." 

se-hun gave a small fake laugh and looked at ji-young. her long black hair was elegantly braided with a pink bow, and she sat straight up. tall and elegant. se-hun smirked again, making the girl frown. she glared at him and sighed, "apa, don't you think the wedding date is coming too quickly. shouldn't we slow it down so the crown prince and i can get to know each other better?" she asked raising an eyebrow at se-hun.

her dad smiled, "if that would be okay with chona." 

       "you." the boy stuttered and pointed. hee-song smiled and bowed, "nice to meet you again." jong-in put his hands on his hips and sighed, "yah, for my future wife you make a dazzling first impression, but it was rude. rude for a lady like you to smirk and tell-off her future husband. it's embarrassing." 

hee-song giggled, "so, my plan worked? ah, i'm always good at embarrassing namins. especially if they're an experienced player." jong-in raised an eyebrow, "how did you know that?" he asked curiously. how much did she know about him? "you came out of the ginsaeng house, how else would i know?" she asked with a mischchevious smile plastered on her lips. 

jong-in blinked, "well, uh... you could have known i was your husband and spied on me." he replied. hee-song scoffed, "i was trying to run away from getting married? why else would i want to know my husband and spy on him? especially if he sleeps with other girls." she said and crossed her arms. jong-in narrowed his eyes, "yah, are you saying i'm dirty?" he asked.

"a-ni-yo, i'm just saying if you want a child, you're not sleeping with me, but a concubine." she said and held her chin up high. jong-in opened his mouth, but the parents interrupted their fiery conversation and invited them to drink tea. hee-song smiled and quickly sat near her uhmma who smiled back. 'aish. that little-' "jong-in!" his father shouted. jong-in fake smiled and joined. 

         "ooh, so when's the wedding?" ji-young's ginsaeng friend asked. she smirked, "a month. enough time to straighten  up the crown prince. what a brat." she said and looked at the fabrics in the markets. she ran her fingers along the embroidered silk designs on the dress. 

"ai-yo, you're already talking about him like he's your husband already." the girl giggled. ji-young smiled, "true?" the girl nodded. a hand took hers and she looked at the owner, "why, isn't it the playboy, jong-in? how's your fiancé doing?" she asked smiling. jong-in sighed, "she's a spoiled brat. smirking at me, making me look bad." he replied and threw down her hand. 

"wow, seems like you like her a lot." ji-young sarcastically replied. jong-in smiled, "she is pretty bright though. when she smiles the world seems brighter and prettier, and her voice is like angels singing." he said. ji-young scoffed, "lucky. at least you have a feeling. my marriage stinks like crap." jong-in laughed, "i thought you'd marry a good-looking, rich, spoiled-brat, namin like me. what happened?" he joked. "i got stuck with the royal pain in the , crown prince." 

       "oppa, hee-song is getting married." the princess cheered and clapped. se-hun's eyes widened and he looked at hee-song who was uninterested in the conversation and looked at the palace's flowers. "is that true?" he asked and drew back his attention to his sister. she nodded and smiled.

"aren't you getting married too oppa?" she asked. her eyes glittered and shone, and se-hun looked at hee-song and then back at the princess, "ne. she's very pretty, but doesn't talk a lot." he lied. he absolutely despised the girl and thought she was ugly as a donkey. "i can't wait to meet her." the princess squealed.

hee-song's heart broke in two. she felt her eyes tearing up, but didn't give up. she couldn't be hurt over a little problem. he wasn't the se-hun she was in love with. se-hun would never call another girl pretty. he would never show interest. and he would never agree to an engagement even if he was a crown prince. she looked at him, but his attention was all on the princess. she fake smiled, at least she'll show how glad she is for the crown prince's engagement. 

           "were you mad? how come you didn't say anything?" se-hun asked as hee-song picked her flowers. she ignored his words and quickly wiped her tears. he grabbed her wrist and turned her around, "hee-song, answer me!" he shouted. his eyes were full of tears and his lip quivered and trembled. 

hee-song was full of emotions and hid her face from him, "chona, you are a prince and i'm a lowly palace maid. please just leave me be. i'm already engaged as well." she replied. she wiped her tears that fell at every blink. se-hun cupped her face and wiped her tears with his thumbs, "please stop hiding from me. stop. i am se-hun. i'm oh se-hun. you called me oppa. we were in a car accident. i said 'sa-rang-hey-o'. do you not recognize me?" he asked. hee-song smiled, "i don't know who you are talking about. i only know the crown prince of joseon named oh se-hun." she lied. 

se-hun took steps back letting go of her. tears rapidly falling from his cheeks. his heart crushed and he sniffed. 

hee-song said those things for a purpose. the purpose was so that he could forget her, and live the life as a smart joseon king. a proud king that could care for others. she wiped her tears and smiled, "chona, you must become a great king. fighting!" inside her heart was dying.